Wherever human cultures have settled near the sea, they have looked to seafood for, among other things, sustenance and culinary delight. As sailors who believe passionately in the merits of sustainability, we too have looked to the sea for such things– with a very high standard for what we consider acceptable seafood at that.
Seafood offers us an invaluable lens into everything from the direct health of the oceans, to the health of society, to the health of humanity. Let me explain.
The connection between seafood and the direct health of the oceans is strong and clear. A healthy ocean supports healthy fish stocks and healthy fish. Some seafood decisions are easy: at minimum, the bottom line is we shouldn’t accept BS seafood poached by, say, Chinese megaships off the Galapagos Islands [ever]. We should look to, say, American fisheries – they’re generally well managed and support local jobs, families, and communities. If you really want to keep it real, try catching your own fish. Regardless of your means of seafood acquisition, if you enjoy eating seafood, then you should undoubtedly respect the ocean, limit the chemicals you’re responsible for emitting into the ocean (NB, pretty much everything flows into the ocean eventually), and support well managed fisheries.
Seafood also offers insight into society itself. What is our relationship with it like? One thing is for certain, seafood is special. It is rare, it requires sacrifice on the part of the fish, and it shouldn’t be taken for granted. Where does society draw its standard for seafood, and where do you set your own bar? Again, there is a wide spectrum of fish available to consumers. How does society regulate, identify and sell fish? Honestly ‘society’ at large doesn’t do a great job overall in our opinion. But as consumers we can ensure we do.
As consumers we must take our destinies in our own hands. For example: Did you know that some fish [i.e., tuna] is often “gassed” with carbon monoxide to preserve its red color for longer? Perhaps it really isn’t harmful as they say; however, the practice is banned in many countries like Canada and the EU because the practice can mask when the fish has gone bad. In our opinion, if gassing the tuna with carbon monoxide is “necessary” to get it to the consumer, maybe you shouldn’t be getting it to those consumers. Going back to an earlier point, seafood is rare and shouldn’t be taken for granted. We believe it should be honored. Commercial tricks like ‘gassing’ are sacrilege.Buyer beware!
Want to know the best way to take your destiny in your own hands when it comes to seafood? Well, it’s fishing or foraging yourself. Not easy, but also not that hard. If you live in Northern California, I highly recommend The Sea Forager’s Guide to the Northern California Coast for an excellent guide on how to actually catch enough seafood for sustenance.
At what point does seafood become a lens into humanity itself, not just a lens into society? Well, we think you have to look at the fisher and the eater. Who is catching your fish? A giant mega-ship fishing fleet, or a local community member, or you? Do people even go spend the time to fish and catch dinner anymore? Or do they just watch it on YouTube and go to the store? We actually have nothing against going to the store. As seafood connoisseurs we absolutely love going to our local fish market, having access to so many awesome, local options, and being able to support local fishing families in such a clear, localized way. Still it does seem that most people’s attention spans have grown shorter and shorter. Fishing is often the opposite of this.
Fishing can often be really boring, tiring, and hard. We appreciate this about it [but does Humanity at large?]. Most people “don’t have the time” to, say, catch the fish they eat. Why not though? How many hours a day are they on their phone? On Instagram or TikTok alone? We’re not saying everyone should go fish and catch their dinner every night, we’re really not. We’re just inquiring about what the world might look like if everybody took back 4 hours of their day [currently spent on their phones], and instead did something a bit more productive with that time. Could a pescatarian diet lay the groundwork for a citizen-led, consumer-driven end of factory farming?
All we know is that as people who are devoted to the protection of the sea and planet, we see seafood as an invaluable lens into the health of the oceans as a whole. Seafood isn’t right for everybody, but for us it is a sacred and valued food source. We aim to respect it as it deserves.